IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE ELEVENTH J UDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA
CIRCUIT CIVIL DIVISION
CATHERINA PARETO and KARLA ARGUELLO, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v. Case No.: 2014-1661-CA-01
HARVEY RUVIN, as Clerk of the Courts of Miami-Dade County, Florida, in his official capacity,
Defendant. /
STATE OF FLORIDAS MOTION TO INTERVENE
The State of Florida, through Attorney General Pamela J o Bondi, pursuant to Florida Civil Rule 1.230 and section 16.01, Florida Statutes, moves to intervene. The Attorney Generals office has been actively monitoring this case and other similar actions since their filing, and it has been defending similar challenges pending in federal court in the Northern District of Florida. Now, with the motion to abate these proceedings no longer pending, with a motion for summary judgment pending, and with the Defendant Clerk of Courts having withdrawn its opposition to the summary judgment motion, the Attorney General seeks to intervene on behalf of the State and to defend the States laws. 1. The Attorney General is charged under section 16.01, Florida Statutes, to appear in and attend to, in behalf of the state, all suits in which the state may be a party, or in anywise interested. This case involves a challenge to certain of the States statutory and constitutional provisions, so the State has an interest in the lawsuit. See State ex rel. Shevin v. Kerwin, 279 So. 2d 836, 837-38 (Fla. 1973) (It cannot be doubted that the constitutional Filing # 15186546 Electronically Filed 06/24/2014 04:07:30 PM integrity of the laws of Florida is a matter in which the State has great interest, or that the State is a proper, but not necessary, party to any determination of the constitutionality of any state statute.). 2. The Attorney General has the authority to intervene in matters like this one. See, e.g., State ex rel. Boyles v. Fla. Parole & Prob. Commn, 436 So. 2d 207, 210 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983); see also Ervin v. Collins, 85 So. 2d 852, 854 (Fla. 1956). 3. The State of Floridas intervention will not prejudice the existing parties. WHEREFORE, the Attorney General asks that the Court allow the State of Florida to intervene in this action.
Respectfully submitted,
PAMELA J O BONDI ATTORNEY GENERAL
/s/ Adam S. Tanenbaum ALLEN WINSOR Florida Bar No. 16295 Solicitor General ADAM S. TANENBAUM Florida Bar No. 117498 Chief Deputy Solicitor General
Office of the Attorney General The Capitol PL01 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050 Telephone: (850) 414-3688 Fax: (850) 410-2672 allen.winsor@myfloridalegal.com adam.tanenbaum@myfloridalegal.com
2
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that on this 24th day of J une, 2014, a true copy of the foregoing motion was filed electronically with the Clerk of Court through the Florida Courts eFiling Portal, which shall serve electronically a copy of said motion on counsel of record listed on the attached service list.
/s/ Adam S. Tanenbaum ADAM S. TANENBAUM 3
SERVICE LIST
Shannon P. Minter Christopher F. Stoll David C. Codell Asaf Orr NATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS 870 Market Street, Suite 370 San Francisco, California 94102 Telephone: (415) 365-1335 Facsimile: (415) 392-8442 Email: sminter@nclrights.org cstoll@nclrights.org dcodell@nclrights.org aorr@nclrights.org
Elizabeth Schwartz ELIZABETH F. SCHWARTZ, P.A. 690 Lincoln Road, Suite 304 Miami Beach, Florida 33139 Telephone: (305) 674-9222 Facsimile: (305) 674-9002 Email: eschwartz@sobelaw.com
Luis G. Montaldo MIAMI-DADE CLERK OF THE COURTS Post Office Box 13267 Miami, Florida 33101 Telephone: (305) 349-7395 Facsimile: (305) 349-7239 Email: cocgencounsel@miamidade.gov Sec. Email: larruza@miamidade.gov
We Express No Opinion As To Subsection (F) of OCGA 51-13-1, Which Provides For Periodic Payment of Future Damages Awards of $350,000 or More in Medical Malpractice Actions